Night Time

I really wanted/needed to post more about Kieren's birthday weekend, but I just need to get this off my chest. Please bear with me.

I used to like night-time. Maybe one day I'll like it again. Yes, I have weeks of insomnia, but I can live with it. That doesn't really bother me so much. It's the night terrors and nightmares that make me dread night time.

Kieren has had night terrors since our first week home from China. Some weeks are just awful! She can have one right after another and then the nightmares kick in for the night. Most kids grow out of the night terrors around age 4-6. We thought Kieren was headed that way. She was down to one night terror every one or two weeks. It was so nice.

Over a week ago, the night terrors and nightmares started again. Since then they have progressively gotten worse. To be honest, I'm so damn tired I can barely type. The worst episode was Monday night. I was napping on the couch (from being so tired from the night before's festivities) when the whole mess hit. Andy said he would take care of Kieren so I could rest. I let him go, but listened over the monitor. Kieren would not calm down. She just got more upset by the minute. I went in her room to find her in the worst attack I have ever seen! She was so upset she sobbed for another 10 minutes, then she started to panic. Kieren hyperventilated for almost 40 minutes. She was so scared. If she lost sight of me, she freaked out. We brought her into the family room where it's cooler. We held her in front of the open screen door (it was chilly!). She breathed into a paper bag. She tried so hard to get control over her breathing! She was being so brave. Finally, I got her to calm down. She had three more episodes that night. She didn't go back to her bed until 3am. Over 5 hours of hell.

So far tonight, Kieren has had 3 attacks. We don't know what the trigger is this week. We will probably never know. The nightmares are just as brutal as the night terrors. The clinging fear that stays with her after she wakes breaks my heart.

Through all of this, Kieren is still the happy sweet little girl she has always been. She wakes up happy. She goes to bed happy. She doesn't fear going to bed or to sleep. Me? I dread bedtime.

Happy 5th Birthday Kieren!!!

Jump for joy...

Celebrate...

Have a blast!

You are 5 today!!!!
Happy birthday to my baby!
We love you, sweet Kieren!!!!

Kieren's 5th Bday Kids Party

"I am 5!"
My beautiful birthday girl is 5 today!!!!

Kieren's party theme this year was "Camping". We put up a tent inside the house, covered all the window to make it darker, and gave all the kids flashlights! Cullen was their "wilderness guide". His shirt reads: "Wilderness Guide. If you get lost, it's not OUR fault!". Cullen was actually in charge of the party. He led them in games, read campfire stories, kept control over 7 little kids, taught crafts, and pretty much ran the show (with a little help). I will post all the photos later, but I need to keep this short tonight.

The Happy Campers!
(front row, left t0 right: Sarah, Kieren, Ian, and Jocelyn
2nd row, left to right: Danielle, Jake, and Emily
Cullen is of course in the back.)

Nothing like a big jug of fresh bug juice! We also had my version of S'Mores, Kieren's Campfire Crunch (trail mix), cheese and crackers, and cake. Oh! It's just not a good party until somebody pukes (Yes, someone did!)!!! More later...

Kieren

Answer: What is Cullen's New Accessory?

Thank you for those who took a guess at Cullen's new accessory! My favorite one was from Kerri ("a girl on his arm")!!!! Sorry, Kerri, but you did not win. No, DeAnne, you didn't win either ("an earring")! Anon was the closest!!!! No, Cullen did not break his arm, BUT he is in a cast for the next three weeks.
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Cullen has a broken index finger on his right hand (of course he's right-handed!)!

This is 3 days after the injury and our trip to X-ray and ER. The swelling is down by at least half. It is NASTY!!!

The break is really bad. It runs length-wise and goes through two knuckles and a growth-plate. His finger is black!

When they soft-cast him at the ER, they immobilized him to the elbow. Luckily the Ortho gave us the option of a much smaller cast that allows his wrist to rotate. Cullen is not a happy camper though. Track season just started and he was training for shot-put and discus. We will find out if his injury will heal enough to compete this year, but we're not too optimistic.

Bet you want to know what happened! The Jr. and Sr. High are in the same gym class. Last week the coach chose dodge ball for the game of the day. *sigh* Cullen had a ball in his hand and was getting ready to launch it at someone when he took a ball to the face and another to the hand. The one that hit his hand snapped the bone. We're lucky it remained aligned! The Ortho said if it hadn't, Cullen would've had to go through surgery! This is broken bone #7 in 4 years. (For those keeping score: right wrist, left pinkie-knuckle, nose, 3 toes on right foot, and now the right index finger.)

I'm waiting for Children's Services to come knocking on my door...

Been Busy...

It's been busy around here lately. I have new photos to share, but I can't seem to find where I buried my cameras (yes, both of them). I will find them tomorrow.

We are all finally recovered from our month of hell! I had the flu first, the kids followed the next week, then it was Andy's turn. After Cullen's secondary infection, we all got a stomach virus one-after-another. Nothing like living on the toilet with a bucket in your lap! Sorry, was that TMI???? With all the snow days mixed in, Cullen was home for over two weeks!!!! UGH! I was so happy to get everyone out of the house so I could have some peace.

Cullen has a new fashion accessory. Anyone, other than my family or Katie or Liz, care to take a guess as to what it is????? Leave me a comment with your best guess! I will post the answer in the form of a photo tomorrow.

It is official. Kieren will be going to Kindergarten in the fall! I will be submitting her registration tomorrow or Tuesday. I don't completely agree with her eval, but I'm not done yet. I still want to talk to her speech therapist. We are registering Kieren at ECA with Cullen. I will be doing a LOT of praying and job hunting this summer! I have to find a job that starts in late August or early September to be able to afford that massive monthly tuition payment!!!! Just thinking about it makes me start to panic! Anyone want to hire me????? YIKES!

I know a lot of people think we're stupid to send the kids to a private Christian school instead of the local public one. Our local school just isn't an environment we want our kids exposed to. The kids are taught to pass the state test, not to truly learn. The middle school and high school are pretty rough. The kids are also learning things a year or two after ECA teaches it. The teachers at ECA are allowed to care about each kid and show them they care. We are part of their education and partners with their teachers. Teaching a child isn't just up to their teachers. We need to take responsibility too. There are so many reasons that I haven't listed. It comes down to this: we are willing to do without the luxuries so our kids will have a brighter future. We choose to place them ahead of ourselves. (Getting off my soap box now.)

Well, I need to get some sleep. Cullen has a sports awards thing in the morning at school. We are all hauling our butts out of bed and going together. UGH!!! I hope Andy makes coffee in the morning! I'll update tomorrow with the answer to the question about Cullen's new accessory!!!!